Over my nearly 20 years of practice as a psychologist, I have encountered many people who have questions about Jesus, Christianity, God and the Bible. I, too, have had many questions over the years as I’ve tried to grow my faith and deepen my understanding of God. I’ve sought counsel over the years from various people and found it tremendously helpful in combating the enemy’s attempt to draw me away from God with doubt. Doubt is normal, but we must fight it with information and faith.
In an effort to help others grow in their faith and deepen their understanding of God, I asked Pastor Ryan Nunez of Palm Valley Church in Goodyear, Arizona, to partner with me in answering the questions I so often hear in my office. We agreed to publish a monthly blog to do just that. Then, it was time to come up with a name…
Years ago, I was introduced to the idea of Spiritual Warfare by Pastor Pat Lazovich of Calvary Chapel in Sierra Vista, Arizona. We went through the book of Ephesians in the Bible line by line, and it was one of the most helpful and informative studies I’ve ever done. I fell in love with the idea of donning the “full armor of God” to fight the enemy and his manifestations in the world.
As I thought about this project with Pastor Ryan, I decided that “Spiritual Warfare” was exactly what we are waging by attempting to disseminate information that can help us fight evil and share God’s word, so that is the title of our project. Here’s the pivotal verse for me:
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes.” Ephesians 6: 10-11
I love these next verses of Ephesians 6, as they describe what the elements of a warrior’s armor represent spiritually:
“Therefore, take up the full armor of God so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth fastened around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness arrayed and with your feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Ephesians 6:13-17
We hope you will enjoy this collaborative effort to share the word of God. Stay tuned for our first post this weekend!
